New aerotropolis emerging in China

The ongoing International Trade Fair in Zhengzhou in central China's Henan Province has attracted businessmen from all over the world, seeking business opportunities in China's new aerotropolis. Zhengzhou airport economic zone, China's first experimental zone for an airport-based economy, is transforming the city into a new, cosmopolitan one. Fourteen foreign companies, including aviation logistics and medicines signed contracts with the zone with a total investment of 6.25 billion U.S. dollars on Tuesday, the first day of a three-day trade fair. "With the support of the Chinese government and its own advantages, Zhengzhou is developing into an aviation-oriented metropolis like Memphis in America, ," said Vlad Lipschutz, United States consul general in Wuhan city in central China's Hubei Province, who brought 10 American businessmen to the trade fair. "Many Fortune 500 companies have invested in Henan Province, and United Parcel Service (UPS) have regular services from the zone. I believe the pilot zone has great potential," Lipschutz said. Grogory Gilligan, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China said the large population and potential market in Henan are also the advantages of the economic zone. So far, Zhengzhou airport has opened 144 domestic and international airlines, including 20 cargo airlines. By 2030, the airport is expected to have five runways, and be able to accommodate 70 million passengers and handle 5 million tons of goods annually.